Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) has accepted responsibility for the oil spill in the Ogoniland of Nigeria. The Ogoniland, the region which produces Nigeria's oil, has rather become an eye sore to Nigeria as a result of the inherent environmental degradation. While admitting the oil spill will surely lead to several court cases, I am a bit concerned of what would happen when the dust settles. Say Shell decides to settle the community, would settlement include cleaning the environment? Would the settlement be in form of money paid out to people in the community or would it be like the Pfizer case where the government, known for its penchant for everything corruption, pocketed part of the money allegedly paid by Pfizer? Since the court cases brought against Shell are from communities rather than from the Nigerian government (State and Federal) what do you think should be the role of the government in all of this? See bbc link to main story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14391015 See article by Tom O'Neill - Nigeria Oil: Curse of the Black Gold - Hope and Betrayal on the Niger Delta: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/02/nigerian-oil/oneill-textSee More